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Lamiaceae
Obedience Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Playful compliance and staying put.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Physostegia
- Native to
- North America
- Bloom season
- Late Summer, Fall
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 2-4 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, fertile
- Water
- moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 3-9
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Individual flowers can be pushed left or right on the stem and will stay where placed, hence 'obedient plant.'
- Ironically nicknamed 'obedient plant' because, despite the flowers staying put, the plant itself spreads aggressively.
- The flowers are arranged in four neat rows along the spike, giving it the alternate name 'false dragonhead.'
- Hummingbirds and bumblebees are its primary pollinators, visiting heavily in late summer.
- It is one of the few mint-family members that grows in wet prairies and stream banks rather than dry habitats.
Color meanings
0
obedience
1
submission to gentle will
2
playfulness